Student: The news is currently talking about avalanches
in Austria and the number of casualties. However, they fail to mention the
suspected causes of such events. So what triggers them? All the news stations
say it's been years since such events have occurred, so why all of the sudden
are they so prominent?
Also rumor has it, in the U.S., especially around populated areas and ski
resorts, officials detonate explosives to trigger avalanches on high peaks.
Are the detonations the reason why Americans do not hear much about spontaneous
walls of snow killing numerous people? Answer:
Places in the French, Swiss, and Austrian Alps are all experiencing more
snow and avalanches than they've seen in centuries. Our own Pacific Northwest
is registering records for amounts of rain and snowfall as well. The ski
lifts are buried at Mt. Baker.
It may be related to the continued strengthening of the El Niño /
La Niña disturbance.